Understanding the QuickBooks SDK Interface

The QuickBooks SDK Interface features bidirectional capabilities that link individual records between QuickBooks and Needles, eliminating the manual import step. Needles strongly recommends that you consult with your Accountant and/or Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor® to assist you with implementation and ongoing accounting support for the QuickBooks side of the interface. In addition, we suggest your Systems Administrator handle the installation of the related utility programs needed to run the QuickBooks SDK interface. The firm’s Needles Manager should review user permissions for ALL staff using Needles to ensure the integrity of your data in both Needles and QuickBooks prior to activating the interface.

The aim of this section is to provide additional information to your Accounting Professional, Systems Administrator and Needles Manager to enable them to work together in setting up the QuickBooks interface. It is not to be constructed in any way as accounting advice or as a substitute for consulting with a qualified professional.

In order to use the QuickBooks SDK interface,

1. You must be running a currently supported desktop version of QuickBooks® Pro, QuickBooks ® Premier, or QuickBooks® Enterprise Solutions.
2. Beginning with Needles version 5.0, Needles can be linked to multiple QuickBooks company files. During the installation and setup process for the QuickBooks SDK interface, you will be able to specify which QuickBooks company file you will be linking to Needles. The interface will communicate with whichever QuickBooks company file is currently open on the workstation. While it is now possible to interface with multiple QuickBooks company files, it is still highly advisable to use only one QuickBooks company file for your firm’s accounting records. If you currently use more than one company file, consult with your accounting professional about the possibility of merging the files into a single company file.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• What is the purpose behind the SDK interface and will it help my firm?
• What does “bidirectional link” mean and how does it work?
• Now that I am utilizing the Customer:Job list, should I use an Accounts Receivable type of account in QuickBooks to accumulate reimbursable case expenses?
• What things should all users consider before implementing the SDK interface?
• I already use the “QuickBooks Windows/IIF” interface. What should I be aware of before switching to the QuickBooks SDK interface?
• If I have never used the “QuickBooks Windows/IIF” interface or I am new to Needles, is there anything I need to consider before implementing the “QuickBooks SDK” interface?
• It sounds like you really need to know as much about QuickBooks as you do about Needles to safely use this interface. If I need assistance with the QuickBooks SDK interface, whom do I contact?

What is the purpose behind the SDK interface and will it help my firm?

The QuickBooks SDK interface was created to facilitate the maintenance of name and contact information between Needles and QuickBooks automatically. This means that changes to name and address information for Parties and Providers in Needles can automatically reflect in QuickBooks without the need to manually change information. Needles users wanted to be able to request deposits for settlement checks and be able to see that their requested checks have been processed by seeing a check number and a date on the payment transaction in the Needles Value tab for the case. For those who use QuickBooks to track time, the Needles time tracking feature can send timecards directly to your QuickBooks company file. With the QuickBooks SDK interface, all of this is possible.

What does “bidirectional link” mean and how does it work?

A bidirectional link is a two-way link between two programs. Certain information changed in the Needles program will automatically reflect in QuickBooks. In turn, certain information changed in QuickBooks will automatically reflect in Needles.

Each Client/Party name and each Provider in Needles is identified by a unique record ID number. This is also true of the individual Customer/Job and Vendor name files in QuickBooks. The unique record ID numbers are automatically generated and assigned “behind-the-scenes” by both Needles and QuickBooks as new records are added to their respective databases. These unique ID numbers provide the basis for the link between parties and providers in Needles to customers and vendors in QuickBooks. These behind-the-scenes numbers enable the bidirectional (back and forth) updating of information between the corresponding records in the two programs.

To illustrate in a simplified manner how this works, we will use the following example of Mrs. Mary Smith:

• At the ABC Law Firm, a new case is opened in Needles for Mrs. Mary Smith. Needles automatically assigns ID #34452 to her file. Eventually, a case expense check is requested through the Needles interface for her case and is exported to QuickBooks to Company file “A”. At that time, QuickBooks creates a new customer in Company file “A” for Mrs. Mary Smith and automatically assigns ID #12186 to that file. The SDK interface establishes the electronic link between the two record ID numbers, so that every time any information is changed in record ID #34452 in Needles, record ID #12186 in QuickBooks is updated to reflect the change and vice versa.

When ABC Law Firm requested the check through the Needles Value tab, another link was created. This link joins the Needles Value item to the check transaction in QuickBooks. When the check is printed in QuickBooks, the link will send the changes back to the Needles Value item by recording the check number and data issued in the payment field. This can be viewed in the Transaction section. If the amount of that check is changed or voided in QuickBooks, those changes will be updated in the payment field. If there is a Due to Firm (DTF) Value item generated as a result of the payment, that DTF item is also linked to the payment. (If you void the check in QuickBooks, it will zero out the amount in the payment field in the original Value item and insert “VOID” to the right of the check number. It will also delete any linked DTF item as well.

Staff with Add and Modify permission to the Needles Value Tab do not have the ability to enter or modify accounting transactions directly within the QuickBooks program. Conversely, creating a check or a deposit directly in QuickBooks will NOT create an entry on the Value tab, even if it is correctly posted to a Customer:Job that is linked to a case in Needles. It is the request and export process in Needles that creates the link between the transaction and the Value tab item. Therefore, if you delete a paid Case Expense (CASEEXP) Value item in Needles (thereby also deleting the attached payment), nothing will happen to the check in QuickBooks but you will:  1) break the link to the transaction; and 2) cause your Value tab to be out of sync with your accounting records for that case in QuickBooks.

It is very important to make sure that the staff permissions for each Needles user are set correctly. Anyone who is given the permission to add, modify, and delete Party and Provider information or Value tab items in Needles should be properly trained to understand the impact changes to Needles Parties and Providers will have on the QuickBooks Customer and Vendor lists. Manual changes to linked Value Items could result in the inability to reconcile the Needles case balance to the QuickBooks balance at settlement. The firm’s bookkeeper should also be properly trained in Needles data entry procedures and the use of the Value tab and Settlement Memo. Changes made to contact information fields in QuickBooks without regard to Needles data entry protocols could negatively impact the firm’s merge documents containing address fields.

There are several safeguards built into the integration process both by QuickBooks and by Needles, but caution must still be used. You must be doubly cautious if you plan to use other QuickBooks company files in addition to the ones you decide to link to Needles. Issues can arise because while there is just one Needles database, there are can be more than one QuickBooks database. Those QuickBooks databases may have similar company file names and also contain many of the same names in their respective customer and vendor lists. It can be easy to lose track of which file is open. For example:

• The ABC Law Firm uses the bidirectional interface to link Needles and QuickBooks Company “A”. However, ABC Law Firm also maintains QuickBooks Company “B” solely for recording the trust account activity. We have already established that client Mrs. Mary Smith is assigned record ID #34452 in Needles, and record ID #12186 in the QuickBooks Company “A” file, which are linked for updating. If record ID #12186 exists in the QuickBooks Company “B” database, it is almost certain that it is not assigned to Mrs. Mary Smith but to another name. In this example, record ID #12186 in QuickBooks Company “B” is actually Mr. Charles Jones. If a case expense check for Mrs. Mary Smith was requested and then exported while the QuickBooks Company “B” file happened to be open, a pop-up screen would display asking the file access permission as QuickBooks Company “B” is not the specified file for the Needles bidirectional link. It is possible to grant access permission simply by selecting one of the ‘Yes’ options on this pop-up screen. If this were to happen, then the exported check would post the transaction incorrectly to Mr. Charles Jones’ case in the wrong QuickBooks company file. The link now established between the names creates the additional possibility for the information in one file to be completely overwritten with information from the other if any address or contact information changes were made at this time.

During the setup of the QuickBooks interface, Company “A” was assigned as the company to link to Needles as a safeguard. As illustrated above, QuickBooks also has an additional safeguard in the form of Certificates to authorize access permission whenever any unregistered program requests access to an open/active QuickBooks company file that does not have Needles set up in the Integrated Applications Preferences screen. If this Certificate should ever pop up when you are working in another QuickBooks company file, be sure to deny access and then immediately close the Needles program until you are done working in that company. It is possible to switch between company files while working in Needles 5.0 as described further in Configuring the QuickBooks SDK  Interface.

If you download the Official QuickBooks sample law firm company file, you will notice that it is recommended to track trust monies by making each client a sub-account (sub-ledger) of the trust checking account in the chart of accounts. Optimization of the Needles integration dictates that it makes more sense to handle the Client:Case Number in the Customer:Job list instead and simply run transaction reports by client for the trust account to get a complete listing of all the trust transactions for the case.

Now that I am utilizing the Customer:Job list, should I use an Accounts Receivable type of account in QuickBooks to accumulate reimbursable case expenses?

Before making this decision, you should be aware of the following:

1. With the SDK Interface, you have the option, in the export screen to issue one check per provider (payee) for multiple check requests. You will not be able to use this feature if your debit account is an Accounts Receivable type of account because QuickBooks does not allow multiple split lines in a transaction to this type of account. To overcome this limitation, set up the account where you accumulate case cost advances as an “Other Current Asset” type of account.
2. QuickBooks does not allow the selection of an Accounts Receivable type of account in the 1099 preferences setup. If you wish to create and print your Provider 1099-MISC forms at the end of the year from QuickBooks, it is advisable to set up the account where you accumulate case cost advances as an “Other Current Asset” type of account because it can be selected for this purpose.
3. The QuickBooks “Customer Center” is geared to show transactions related to sales, invoices, payment receipts, and any other transactions that have been posted to an Accounts Receivable type of account. If you opt to use an “Other Current Asset” type of account to record your activity, you will not see any transactions or open balances in the Customer Center view. Instead, you will need to create and memorize some custom transaction reports to view that information.

What things should all users consider before implementing the SDK interface?

1. Data cleanup should be done in both Needles and QuickBooks prior to implanting the SDK interface. “Find and replace” duplicate parties and providers in Needles. You will also need to merge any duplicate names in QuickBooks. Do not forget to first check your Other Names List in QuickBooks and reclassify any customers or vendor names that may be there to the correct list. This is especially important if you have ever used the original “QuickBooks Windows” interface because any Provider names (Vendors) that were changed after the first export may have ended up here.
2. QuickBooks names and address line fields have a limit of 41 characters. Needles information exceeding the QuickBooks character limit will be truncated.
3. Updating information in Needles does not change either the QuickBooks Customer name or the Vendor name field as it appears in the list. However, it does affect the “Print on Checks as” field on the Payment Settings tab of a Vendor, including the Address Info tab of Vendors and Customers.

I already use the “QuickBooks Windows/IIF” interface. What should I be aware of before switching to the QuickBooks SDK interface?

1. In prior versions, the “QuickBooks IIF” interface was named the “QuickBooks Windows” interface. On the Needles > File > Interfaces > QuickBooks SDK screen, there are options to run “Match Exported Parties” and “Match Exported Providers” utilities. Using these options will provide a quicker way to establish links between names in Needles and names in QuickBooks that have been previously exported through the “QuickBooks Windows/IIF” interface. During this process, Needles will look to match previously exported Parties:Cases in Needles to names in the Customer:Job list in QuickBooks. Needles will also look to match previously exported Providers in Needles to the Vendor list in QuickBooks. At this time, Needles will also update contact and address information in QuickBooks for any names it is able to positively match. If you do not want Needles to update any of your existing QuickBooks information, you may skip this option and link each name manually. Manually linking (using the Accounting Link button) will allow you to choose, on an individual basis, whether or not you want Needles to update the QuickBooks name. An exception report will generate at the end of each process that lists all previously exported Needles names that it was unable to match in QuickBooks.

If a Needles Provider has been attached as a Party to a case, it will seek to match this name to one in the Customer:Job list rather than the Vendor list, and it will show up in the report. Be sure to print the report so you can manually establish a link for those names.

2. Payment and corresponding DTFs for check exports done before the SDK interface is implemented will not be linked to the check transaction in QuickBooks. Only those QuickBooks transactions created using the Needles QuickBooks SDK interface will be linked back to the Needles Value tab.

If I have never used the “QuickBooks Windows/IIF” interface or I am new to Needles, is there anything I need to consider before implementing the “QuickBooks SDK” interface?

1. If you are new to both Needles and QuickBooks, you may allow names from Needles to be created and linked in QuickBooks on an “as needed” basis with exported transactions.

2. If you have been using QuickBooks for some time, either without Needles or without the original QuickBooks Windows/IIF interface, you will now have to manually “link” each name between the two programs in order to implement all of the capabilities of the new interface. Before you link any name, you may want to compare the existing information in each program for the name. If the Needles information is more correct and complete, you may choose to update the QuickBooks name at the time you establish the link (using Link & Update). However, if your QuickBooks file is more accurate, you should establish the link choosing NOT to update from Needles (using Link Only). Immediately go into that name in QuickBooks and save a small change in the file there to ensure it updated the Needles name with the most accurate information.

It sounds like you really need to know as much about QuickBooks as you do about Needles to safely use this interface. If I need assistance with the QuickBooks SDK interface, whom do I contact?

1. For issues regarding installation of the SDK utility programs and the Accounting System Interface settings, please contact Needles Support for assistance.
2. Needles Support can provide assistance regarding issues such as information not properly updating between the two programs, error messages received while using the interface, how to request and/or export a check or deposit, and using the time tracking feature.
3. For any questions regarding setting up your QuickBooks company file, setting up your chart of accounts, trust accounting procedures, creating reports in QuickBooks and any other accounting-related questions, please contact your Accounting Professional and/or a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor®.

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